Science and Religion – Post 1

Don’t bother me with facts, son. I’ve already made up my mind. – Foghorn Leghorn

I’d like to issue my first of what I expect to be many Science vs. Religion posts and will offer the following statement first, and I think it’s a unique point of view:

I don’t know what the answer is.

I think that 997 out of the next 1,000 people that read this will do only one thing: try to reconcile it against their own personal view. I’m going to share a few thoughts anyway.

I just listed to the fora.tv debate between Christopher Hitchens and Alister McGrath on the subject. I have to admit I am fairly familiar with Hitchens and much of his logic resonates with me. He asked a particularly poinient question around the 19 minute mark that I would like to paraphrase. You can listen to the entire debate here.

I, a non-scientist, believe religion and science is non-reconcilable. I’ve taken the best advice I can regarding how long Homo sapiens have been on the planet. It’s not more than 250,000 years. 100,000 years is lowest I’ve heard … I’ll take 100,000. I only need 100,000.

For 100,000 years, Homo sapiens lived on the earth, very often dying or killing their mother in the process of birth. If they did survive the birthing and childhood process, their life expectancy was probably 20-25 years. They likely died from the teeth, near to the brain as they are, or of hunger, or of microorganisms that they didn’t know existed, or by natural disaster, storm, etc. that would have been wholly mysterious to them at the time.

I’ll pause for just a moment while you imagine for yourself what the first tens of thousands of years must have been like.

And we like to think we were learning a little bit in the process, and certainly having gods all the way … worshiping bears along the way which I can see, sometimes worshiping other human beings (big mistake). Perhaps we were exponentially improving in some areas and timelines but in many areas of the world dying out in total and generally having a simply miserable existence.

So, call it 100,000 years. According to the Christian faith, Heaven watches this with folded arms for 98,000 years. And then decides it’s time to intervene. And the best way to do this is with a human sacrifice in primitive Palestine. Where the news would take so long to spread that it still has not penetrated very large parts of the world. And this would be the redemption of the human species.

Now I would submit to you that these facts, what you must believe to be a Christian, are not possible to believe. As well as not decent to believe. A virgin birth is more likely than that. A resurrection is more likely than that. Because if this timeline was true, it would have to mean that the designer of this plan was either unbelievable lazy and inept or unbelievable callous, cruel, and indifferent. Harsh words. But I cannot counter with an argument. Can you?